November 2009

A federal district court has ruled that patients and scientists can challenge patents on human genes in court, allowing the ACLU and PUBPAT lawsuit challenging BRCA patents to move forward. Read the press release and view new photos from the ACLU's In the Family screening in New York.

Kartemquin Films wishes to thank all the fans, friends and family who attended last night's fantastic celebration of the 15th anniversary of Hoop Dreams, 'An Evening with Kartemquin Films.'

Executive Director Justine Nagan welcomed guests to the sold-out evening at the Gene Siskel Film Center which was MCeed by WXRT's Marty Lennartz. The event then began with a brief visual recap of the film leading into a memorable panel discussion, moderated by the Community Renewal Foundation's Dr. Calvin Morris, featuring the film's subjects Arthur Agee and William Gates and filmmakers Steve James and Peter Gilbert. Frederick Marx, the third part of the filmmaking team was unable to attend. They discussed the friendships they formed and the lessons they learned during the 7 years of making the film, and the legacy and impact of this Oscar-nominated documentary on cinema and their own lives.

The audience was also treated to a compelling keynote speech from author Alex Kotlowitz (There Are No Children Here); a discussion on the hugely impactful community outreach campaign for Kartemquin's In the Family between director Joanna Rudnick and Dr. Pamela Ganschow; and sneak previews of Kartemquin's works in progress The Interrupters (Steve James) and Invisible Seasons (Maria Finitzo). Kartemquin's co-founder and Artistic Director Gordon Quinn and Board Chairman Steve Whisnant closed the event by emphasizing the importance and value of Kartemquin's unique brand of cinematic social inquiry and ongoing support for the documentary filmmaking community.

We were honored to also have the great critic and champion of the film, Roger Ebert in attendance. Read his thoughts on the evening.

For video of the event and coverage by the Medill news network, click here. For many photos from the evening, please visit our facebook page. Read an interview with Hoop Dreams cinematographer and co-producer Peter Gilbert here.

Kartemquin would like to again thank all who attended, and in particular acknowledge the generosity of our major donors for the anniversary:

Sage Foundation

Rita Blickenstaff in memory of Thomas S. Favorite

Kim Blickenstaff in memory of Eddie Favorite

Jack Wing

~ Hoop Dreams will screen at the IFC Center in New York this Monday. Reserve tickets.

As the 15th anniversary celebration of Hoop Dreams continues with tonight's SOLD OUT screening at IFC Center in New York, the internet is alive with people sharing their memories of the film.

Just as with the film's 1994 release, the great critic Roger Ebert is leading the way, with his brilliant article on what he calls "the great American documentary" and "the best film of the 1990's" inspiring a number of other bloggers to share their own accounts of how the film has inspired them over the years. Read Ebert's piece here, and some of the follow-up blogs here, here, here and here.

One notable blog was published by former Fine Line Features President Ira Deutchman, who shares his own poignant memories of how he put his career on the line to ensure as many people as possible saw this film, and also on the Oscar controversy surrounding the film's lack of a nomination for 'Best Documentary'… and 'Best Picture.' For what he claims is the "true story" on the Oscar controversy, read Steve Pond's excellent blog at TheWrap.

The anniversary also inspired Nathan Rabin of the Onion AV Club to watch the film for the first time, and lead to a great interview with Steve James and Peter Gilbert on True/Slant's Chicago blog.

Finally, click for photos and video of the 15th anniversary event. Thanks to everyone who attended for supporting Hoop Dreams and Kartemquin Films!

11/12/09 - Read Stranger Than Fiction's thoughts on the event (with pictures!) here.

Kartemquin is excited to announce that its latest release, Typeface, will have its Chicago premiere with a week run at the Gene Siskel Film Center beginning January 29th.  Save the date!  Details coming soon.  We're grateful for the support of the Society of Typographic Arts who is helping to sponsor the Chicago premiere of the film.

Justine Nagan lectured last night on her recent film "Typeface" to students and faculty from the University of Texas-Austin.  The group asked insightful questions and created a great poster to support the film.  Kartemquin is thankful to David Shields from the UT faculty for hosting the film.  Typeface screens tonight and Sunday at Austin's Alamo Drafthouse Theatre, sponsored by AIGA Austin.

U.S. users of iTunes can now download two acclaimed Kartemquin documentaries. Find festival favorite Milking the Rhino and the 2008 Peabody award-winning Terra Incognita: Mapping Stem Cell Research by searching for "Independent Lens" in the iTunes store. Both films are $9.99. Kartemquin looks forward to reading your reviews on the site.

Also, read Cecilia Wendiga's excellent blog post about Milking the Rhino for some links to recent outreach events related to the film, and some valuable background information on community-based conservation in Africa.

~ Watch Milking the Rhino now

~ Watch Terra Incognita now

Other award-winning Kartemquin films also available on iTunes:

~ Watch At the Death House Door now

~ Watch In the Family now

Kartemquin is proud to announce two groundbreaking new documentaries, currently in development in Chicago.

The Interrupters, directed/produced by Steve James (Hoop Dreams, No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson) and produced/written by acclaimed journalist Alex Kotlowitz (There Are No Children Here, Never a City So Real), tells the story of a group of men and women, many of them former gang leaders, who now work for the group CeaseFire and risk their lives by intervening in violent situations across the city of Chicago.

Also, Kartemquin's first ever Diversity Fellow, Usama Alshaibi, is developing American Arab, (working title) a feature-length documentary.

Sign up to our mailing list to keep track of these exciting new projects!

Acclaimed Kartemquin filmmaker Steve James will attend the Chinese premieres of his award-winning documentaries Hoop Dreams and Stevie this December in Beijing. The screenings are a part of the IDOCS International Documentary Forum, a week-long celebration of documentary film taking place at the nation's top cinema school, the Beijing Film Academy, from December 12-17. 

The unmissable double-bill of the acknowledged classics Hoop Dreams and Stevie occurs on December 13th. Despite garenering numerous awards and praise over the years, neither film has ever played inside the world's most populous nation until now. Steve James will participate in Q+A's after both screenings.

Steve will also take part in several panels discussing his own career and the current state of documentary film throughout the week (see our events page for full listings). A highlight of the week will be an exclusive, in-depth 'master class' on the production of Stevie on December 14th, in which Steve James will discuss the film with director Peter Wintonick (Manufacturing Consent).

For more information, please visit the official website.

Kartemquin's long-awaited documentary about late-onset post-traumatic stress disorder, Prisoner of Her Past, will finally be playing festivals and screening to the public in 2010. The film is based on The Chicago Tribune Jazz critic Howard Reich's book The First and Final Nightmare of Sonia Reich: A Son's Memoir.

In the meantime, click here to listen to a Pritzker Military Library podcast interview with Howard Reich from 2008 discussing working with Kartemquin on the film.